


Next Best Thing by babs

by babs



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-17
Updated: 2011-04-17
Packaged: 2017-10-18 06:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/185986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babs/pseuds/babs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam needs to get Daniel out of a bad situation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Next Best Thing by babs

Daniel's breath came out in harsh gasps. Sam rested her forehead on the bloody floor and crawled a few more inches where he lay crumpled and discarded against the wall.

"Daniel." She wanted to shout, to call out his name, but all that came from her abused throat was a strangled whisper.

"Sam." It was little more than a breath, but it gave her renewed strength and she managed to reach his side.

"Hey." She bit back the pain when she moved her hand to touch his face.  
He turned his head slightly, into the cup of her palm.

"Here," Daniel whispered.

"Yes, yes, I'm here," Sam said. She wanted to weep for his pain, but she had no energy for tears. "I'm here," she said again when he closed his eyes. "I'm here."

She didn't want to look at the wreck the Jaffa had made of Daniel's body; didn't want to see the way his hands rested, broken and mangled across his chest, but she did. She looked---remembering every single moment of the horror. Sam closed her eyes for a moment. She had to pull herself together. She had to get them both out of this hellhole. There wasn't time to focus on anything but that.

She glanced around the room, searching for something, anything that she could use.

Think, Sam, she told herself. Think. She shuddered as she flicked her gaze to the bloodstained table in the middle of the room. The table where she'd sat with Daniel across from her while they asked her to give them the codes for Earth over and over. She could still hear the crunch of bone as his first finger was broken. Bile rose in her throat as she glanced at the manacles on the wall. They'd broken his ribs while he hung there. And still she'd remained silent while Daniel caught her gaze and gave her strength.

"I'll be back," she said to him now, and touched his hair. He opened his eyes then, implicit trust and faith there, even though he didn't speak.

Sam crawled to the table and grabbed hold of one sturdy leg. She pulled herself up partway, only to fall back down when pain shot through her. She lay panting on the ground before she turned over. No, no, no, her mind gibbered. She had to get up. She held a hand to her side and grabbed hold of the table leg again. She had to do this. She had no choice.

The Jaffa would be back. Of that she was certain. She couldn't risk that. Sam gained her feet and stood hunched over. She didn't know what they'd used on her but it had set every nerve ending on fire and she hadn't been able to hold back the screams. Daniel had been mercifully unconscious. She straightened cautiously and took a few weaving steps toward the door. She and Daniel had been left alone, the Jaffa leaving the room at a run. She wasn't sure if it was a trap or if something else was going on. She could hear nothing outside the door. She pushed against it with her shoulder, letting out a sigh when it opened slightly.

Behind her, Daniel's breathing changed and she turned. Sam fell to her knees, the jolt bringing tears to her eyes. She crawled back to his side, able to move faster that way.

"Sssss..."

"I'm here. Oh God, I'm here." Sam pressed her lips to his forehead, alarmed by the clammy coolness of it. His face was leeched of the little color it had just minutes ago and there was blood on his lips.

"Help..."

"I'm trying, Daniel."

He turned his head back and forth. "Up. Up."

Blood came from his mouth in a fine mist as he spoke and Sam felt her heart squeeze. Punctured lung. She had to get them to the Gate and home. Daniel was going to die if she didn't.

"Forgive me," she whispered. She grabbed his T-shirt and pulled.

Daniel gave a grunt. She managed to pull him a few more feet, while Daniel's breath grew more labored.

"Sorry, sorry," she muttered as she continued her slow progress towards the door, her own pain forgotten for the moment as she looked down into Daniel's face.

Sam leaned against the door.

"Sarcophagus. There has to be a sarcophagus, right?" she wondered out loud.

"Two," Daniel whispered.

"Two? Two doors away?"

"Yeah," Daniel said and then coughed weakly.

The pain had to be excruciating for him as she began her slow progress through the hall.

Pull three steps, rest, pull three steps, rest. Sam blinked as sweat dripped into her eyes, but she didn't relinquish her hold on Daniel. She gave another pull and leaned against the wall. Her fingers cramped on his shirt and sudden pain rippled through her body.

"Up," Daniel whispered. "Me."

Sam lowered herself to the floor, letting her butt slide along the wall while her knees slowly gave way. "You can't. If you..."

Daniel smiled at her. "Only way."

Gunfire sounded from another area of the complex.

"Now."

Sam nodded and took a deep breath. She got to a crouch and pulled Daniel's left arm over her shoulders, tears coming to her eyes as she heard him gasping for breath.

"On three," she warned him. "One, two." She waited until he bent his legs and then put all her weight into bringing them both to a standing position, "Three." Her breath came out in a whoosh. Daniel leaned against her, breathing hard and his skin clammy.

"We have to go," she said, feeling tears begin to run down her face. She was a soldier, damn it. This was her duty. Rescue the civilian. Bring him home safely.

The last stretch to the room that held the sarcophagus was a nightmare. Daniel managed a few steps but he grew heavier and heavier until she took nearly all his weight.

"Here," she gasped out. She thought she'd fall on her knees when she saw the sarcophagus. The gunfire was growing closer and Sam fought against the shaking that seemed to be overtaking her body. "Daniel, we're here." She took his arm from around her shoulder and he flopped forward, half in the machine, half out, his body boneless.

"Please, please, please." Sam heard someone chanting and it was a moment before she realized it was her own whisper. She'd read about mothers being able to lift a car off their child, of feats of seemingly superhuman strength caused by the rush of adrenaline. She knew it was true as she lifted a limp Daniel into the sarcophagus. She pressed her fingers to his neck, checking for a pulse she knew no longer existed.

There was noise at the door, gunfire and staff weapons and footsteps. She had no weapon but still she turned to face the door. Duty. It was all about duty.

The door burst open and behind her she could hear the lid of the sarcophagus slowly begin to close. A staff weapon blast caught her in the chest before she could register what was happening and she was falling backwards, backwards.

Someone touched her and she heard a deep voice calling her name. Another voice was yelling.

"Damn it, Carter. Don't you do this." But *that* didn't make sense. She'd gotten Daniel to safety, to his one hope for healing. "Teal'c," that same voice said, "we've got to--"

Her world turned black, but the pain was gone, all of it. She was warm and surrounded by light. Sam let herself be absorbed by it.

  
* * * *

"Shouldn't they be awake by now?"

That was Colonel O'Neill, Sam thought. Wonder what he's doing here?

"They're only sleeping. They went through a lot, sir, from what you reported of their injuries. Injuries which, by the way, have been totally healed. But there are the psychological ramific--"

And that was..."Janet?"

Sam opened her eyes to see her friend smiling down at her, her CO peering over said friend's shoulder and Teal'c peering over the colonel's shoulder.

"Daniel?" Sam asked and tried to sit up, only to have Janet gently touch her shoulder in warning.

"Right over there," Janet said softly, and pointed to the bed on Sam's other side.

"He...is he okay?" Sam felt her eyes fill with tears and brought up a hand to wipe them away.

"He's going to be fine," Janet reassured her. "You are, too." Janet reached onto the bedside table and then pressed a wad of tissues into Sam's hand. "I'll be back in a little bit."

Sam nodded and stared at the blanket.

Colonel O'Neill coughed and she looked up in surprise. "How are you feeling, Carter?"

"I'm..." She hesitated, her thoughts still cobwebby. "I'm fine. I think. I don't remember what...the sarcophagus. Daniel was in the sarcophagus and then..." She shrugged in confusion.

"You were shot by a staff weapon, MajorCarter," Teal'c said when the colonel didn't speak. "O'Neill and I placed you in the sarcophagus with DanielJackson."

Sam frowned up at him. "I didn't think you could do that."

"Well, it's been done now," Colonel O'Neill said. "Leave it to SG-1 to make all the fun discoveries."

"Daniel's okay?" Sam asked again, skipping over the levity. She could still hear the sound of his struggle to breathe, still see his ruined hands.

"Daniel's okay."

Sam let out a deep breath and nodded, twisting the tissues between her hands.

"We're going to need to debrief about what went on," Colonel O'Neill said, his voice gone quiet in the way it did when he was concerned about his team. He touched her shoulder at the same time Teal'c placed a hand on her knee. "You need some time?"

She shook her head and swallowed. "No, sir. I'm ready."

He nodded and motioned to someone out of her range of sight. "Call General Hammond," he ordered and then turned his attention back to Sam. "Whenever you're ready, Major."

Sam looked up at him and then to Teal'c. She was a soldier and her duty was not yet done.

"Doctor Daniel Jackson and I were captured on P9R-111 by a contingent of Jaffa," Sam began as General Hammond came to her bedside. "We were taken onto the ship of..."

  
* * * *

The infirmary was quiet, lights dimmed to simulate a nighttime environment. Sam turned over to her side and watched Daniel breathing little more than an arm's length away. He'd wakened earlier and eaten a light meal, gave his report on the mission gone wrong, telling the others that Sam had saved him while Sam sat on her bed and wondered if she could forgive herself for allowing Daniel to be tortured.

Daniel moved a hand and bunched his pillow under his head. He opened his eyes, reluctantly, it seemed to Sam.

"Sam?" he asked, his voice cracking a little.

"Do you need a nurse?" Sam asked. She put her feet on the floor and was at his bedside in a moment.

He smiled at her. "No nurse. I was just a little disoriented. Guess I need some coffee."

Sam smiled back and shook her head. "You *are* incorrigible."

He widened his eyes. "Me? What about Jack?"

"Stop trying to change the subject," Sam whispered, although a little giggle escaped at the look of innocence he was trying to project. "I'm not getting you coffee. Janet would kill me. Besides, it's the middle of the night."

He shifted on the bed and patted the mattress. Sam took the hint and sat down beside him. "That's never stopped us before," Daniel said.

"Are you whining?" Sam asked. As long as they joked in this manner, she could keep the images that kept assaulting her mind at bay.

"I do *not* whine," Daniel said. "Although I'm not above begging to get coffee."

"How about some water? You can pretend," Sam said as she poured him a glass from the pitcher on the bedside table.

Daniel took it from her, his hand brushing hers, and drained it in a few swallows before handing it back. She took it, letting her fingers rest around his for a moment and felt her throat get tight. She placed the glass back on the table and froze as the image of Daniel's broken, shattered hands superimposed itself over her own trembling fingers.

"Sam?" Daniel's voice was soft, gentle. He touched her forearm, his fingertips little more than a whisper across her skin.

She turned back to him, forcing a smile to her lips and knowing in an instant by his frown that he wasn't buying it for a minute.

"Hey." He moved his hand lower, interlacing his hand with hers and squeezing gently. "We're both okay. We're probably in better shape than when we went on the mission."

She tried to keep up the pretense of a smile. She truly did, but the tears she'd been keeping at bay overflowed as she looked at Daniel's fingers wrapped around hers. His hand was warm and strong. It was a hand of a man who worked for a living--she could feel the rasp of familiar calluses against her palm. She looked down and saw the broken nail on his ring finger, the small scar across the back of his index finger where he'd cut himself excavating on a mission over a year ago. She rubbed her thumb across it and looked up to see Daniel looking at her in concern, his forehead wrinkled in a frown.

"Sorry," Sam said. She brushed her hand over her eyes, but was dismayed to find the tears kept coming. "Sorry," she said again.

Daniel shook his head and put a hand to the back of her neck. "Don't be." He pressed a little and she leaned forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder, letting silent tears flow unheeded.

He kneaded the tight cords in her neck and she felt herself let go, relax.

"You have beautiful hands," Sam said, her voice thick and drowsy.

The kneading stopped a moment and then resumed while Sam took Daniel's other hand and pulled it close to her cheek, covering it with both of hers.

"Thank you," Daniel said with the same gravity he'd have given a visiting dignitary from another world.

"I thought...they were breaking you apart and I couldn't do anything to stop them." The words came in a rush. "I wanted to save you. I didn't want them to hurt you."

"It could have been any of us. You know that. It could have been me or Jack or Teal'c in the same situation." Daniel shifted slightly and Sam lifted her head to look at him. "We'd have done the same."

Sam nodded. She *knew* that.

"You saved my life," Daniel continued in that calm, even way he had of speaking when he was trying very hard to get a point across.

"You were tortured," Sam said, choking on the word.

"You were, too," Daniel said, very softly. "But we're home now and it's over."

She forced a smile and said in a shaky voice, "You realize this means we're going to both have to see Doctor Mackenzie."

"And here I thought you were trying to make us feel better," Daniel said with a bare hint of laughter.

Sam laughed out loud and then snuck a look around the infirmary in case there were other occupants. There weren't. She twisted sideways and started to get up only to be held back by Daniel taking hold of her wrist.

She looked at him in question and he shook his head. "Stay?"

Moving back a little, she pulled both her legs back up and sat cross-legged on his bed.

"You really don't think I can get a cup of coffee?" Daniel asked.

Sam shook her head. "Sorry, but I'm not even going to attempt to ask someone here if they'll allow it. Janet would probably say something about us needing more rest." She sighed and then brightened. "But I do have an idea." She leaned close and whispered in his ear. "I'll be right back."

She got out of the bed and headed towards the bathroom.

"Major Carter? Do you need help? Does Doctor Jackson?" one of the night nurses asked as she looked up from her task of inventorying supplies.

"No. No. We're both fine. I just needed to stretch my legs a little bit."

The nurse smiled back. "Okay, but if you need anything..."

"We just need a little more sleep. We both know where the call buttons are," Sam said and continued on her reconnaissance mission.

She knew where Janet kept her secret stash of chocolate---a forgotten drawer in an out of the way cabinet. Her friend once told her she kept it hidden so that she wouldn't be tempted as often.

With one last glance around, Sam opened the drawer. A few Snickers bars, some Kit Kats, a bag of M and M's, and then gold--some dark Belgian chocolate truffles in a little box. She didn't hesitate in taking out the box. Janet used Daniel's coffee stash when she was desperate, and Sam would go out and buy a bigger box of the truffles when she left the base tomorrow afternoon.

She waved to the nurse doing inventory on the way back to Daniel.

His eyes were closed as she approached, and she thought he might have fallen back asleep.

"Daniel?"

"I'm awake," he said. He sat up and scooted his legs over to make some room for Sam. "What?"

Sam pulled the box out of the bathrobe pocket with a grin. "Janet's secret stash. Just the thing for emergencies."

She opened the lid and they both inhaled the heady scent together.

"Next best thing," Daniel said around a mouthful of chocolate a moment later.

"To coffee?" Sam asked after she swallowed a blissful bite.

Daniel shook his head and licked a remaining bit of chocolate from his index finger. "Nope."

Sam tilted her head and frowned, raising her eyebrows in question.

"To friends," Daniel said.

"To friends," Sam echoed and smiled.


End file.
